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Mission Statement

As part of the federal government’s National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Eye Institute’s mission is to “conduct and support research, training, health information dissemination, and other programs with respect to blinding eye diseases, visual disorders, mechanisms of visual function, preservation of sight, and the special health problems and requirements of the blind.”

Optic Nerve Disorders

Researchers at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, have created a noninvasive technology that detects when nerve cells fire based on changes in shape. The method could be used to observe nerve activity in light-accessible parts of the...

The National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded grants to five multi-disciplinary teams to develop new disease models for a range of eye conditions. The program, which will award $30 million over 5 years,...

The recent approval of two novel medications for glaucoma – the first new medications for the disorder in nearly 18 years – are fruit borne from decades of foundational scientific research supported by the National Eye Institute (NEI). The two...

Common, unavoidable eye movements may be a cause of glaucoma in people with normal intraocular pressure (normal-tension glaucoma), according to new research supported by the National Eye Institute. The findings suggest that over time eye...

A new study in rats shows that stem cell secretions, called exosomes, appear to protect cells in the retina, the light-sensitive tissue in the back of the eye. The findings, published in Stem Cells Translational Medicine, point to potential...

January is Glaucoma Awareness Month. The National Eye Institute, part of NIH, is highlighting key facts about this blinding disease, important tips for prevention and treatment, and research updates you may not know about.

The National Institutes of Health will fund six projects to identify biological factors that affect neural regeneration in the retina. The projects are part of the National Eye Institute (NEI) Audacious Goals Initiative (AGI), a targeted effort...

Although commonly used, oral corticosteroids alone are ineffective in treating optic neuritis, a debilitating inflammation of the optic nerve, and actually increase a person’s risk for future attacks, according to a large National Eye Institute-...